I need to stop about every 250 miles anyway for both mine and the dog's needs, plus I find those interesting tidbits, like jalapeno cheese taquitos....

Well yeah, we stop too. It's just that we get to stop at more interesting places than a gas station.

I remember on our trip from BC back to Texas a while back, the wife and I were having dinner and she remarked that it had been over a week since we got gas, and that I'd better check it. I let her know we still had 275 miles to empty.

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"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."

I think manufacturers are starting to offer some interesting pickup options. Ford with the two Ecoboost engines; Ram with the Ecodiesel, the big 3 increasing the tranny speeds; the GM twins (soon to be available with a diesel); and the Nissan Titan XD.

Any vehicle which claims to be suitable for towing should have this sort of automatic control - in my Sienna, Toyota calls it "Grade Logic". I like the way GM has linked engine braking to the cruise control, and taken advantage of the ability to vary the degree of engine braking with a throttle-type system:

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When the exhaust brake is engaged in cruise mode, exhaust cruise grade braking helps the cruise control system maintain vehicle speed when travelling downhill, keeping the driver from having to apply the brakes, thereby exiting cruise control.

In non-cruise mode, the transmission and the exhaust brake deliver the correct amount of braking to assist in vehicle control, regardless of vehicle load. It is a smart system that varies the amount of brakes needed for the vehicle, load and grade.

Diesels inherently have minimal engine braking (due to the lack of a throttle), so they need something added - in this case it is a throttle valve in the exhaust. It's good to hear that GM has included the exhaust brake, since it is not in all light diesel vehicles. The Canyon/Colorado diesel has a variable-geometry turbocharger; the variable vanes can be used to increase the braking effect of the turbocharger, so adding the separate exhaust brake as well is going beyond the minimum required.

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Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

"Honest officer, I never flipped the Jake brake. Must be automatic on these new Freightliners.

I'm sure it's not actually a traditional Jake brake - which is a Jacobs compression release brake - and that's good for noise!

Big truck engines are generally six-cylinders, and the compression brake control has three levels - two, four, or all six cylinders in braking mode. No switch to flip in this setup.